The North Carolina Tar Heels went into Charlottesville, Virginia and did something they hadn’t done yet in 2026 — win a game on the road. It was just the second road win on the season for the Tar Heels,
their first in conference play, and it came against a ranked Virginia team that was on a five-game winning streak and was 10-0 at home before this game.
The game started off with the Cavaliers going up big with a 10-2 run before North Carolina tied the game at 14, only for Virginia to get up by as many as 16 with just 2 minutes remaining in the first half. However, a 32-15 run that started with two huge threes to end the first half gave North Carolina the lead and after some back and forth, the Tar Heels were able to come away with the victory.
So what can we learn from this big road win against the Cavliers?
Whatever the question is, Derek Dixon is the answer
Dixon had one of his best games of the season in one of the most difficult places to play. The freshman guard, who was starting in his third straight game, finished the game with 11 points and a career-high seven assists with just one turnover while playing a season-high 33 minutes. He also had four rebounds to go along with two made threes; the first of which cut the first half lead to single digits with about five seconds to go in the half. Dixon’s play led to several easy fast break buckets for several Tar Heels and was a key factor in North Carolina fighting back to get the win.
Jarin Stevenson had a massive second half
Stevenson came off the bench for the second straight game, but responded by having one of his best games of the season. The junior transfer finished with a season-high 17 points (all in the second half) in just 16 minutes of play, hitting half his threes and all of his free throws. Stevenson, who was the fourth big into the game, showed he is willing to run the floor as he caught several fast break passes and helped the Tar Heels take their first lead in the second half with just under 12 minutes to go. He continued to step up after Henri Veesaar went out with his fourth foul with a little over five minutes remaining and North Carolina trailing by two. UNC finished the game by outscoring the Cavaliers 18-11, with Stevenson scoring eight points during that stretch.
Tar Heels win despite getting out-muscled in the paint
North Carolina got dominated in the paint. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Tar Heels 44-28, with 16 offensive rebounds, and outscored them in the paint 40-34. Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson combined for 27 points and just five rebounds. If one had told Virginia coach Ryan Odom that before the game started, he probably would have assumed his team had just won it’s sixth straight and was 11-0 at home. Somehow, the Tar Heels overcame that, held their second straight opponent to under ten made threes, and came away with the win on the road. If North Carolina has figured out ways to win — especially on the road — when they get dominated inside, the rest of the ACC better watch out.
